After a nationwide search, Kennedy Catholic High School announced Monday afternoon (Feb. 13, 2023) that Pat Jones will be the fifth Football Head Coach in Lancer history following the departure of Coach Sheldon Cross this past January.
“It is an honor to be named head coach of Kennedy Catholic football,” Jones said. “I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue the legacy of the coaches before me. As a father of eight and football coach for 41 years, I have structured my life around football, and I could not be happier continuing that career here at Kennedy Catholic with this program and this group of outstanding young men.”
Originally from Bellevue, Washington and a graduate of the University of Washington, Coach Jones joined Kennedy Catholic Football as an offensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2019. His revamping of the run game as part of the Kennedy Catholic Air Raid offense led to a #1 seed in the 4A State Playoffs and a North Puget Sound League (NPSL) Championship. In 2020, Jones added special teams coordinator and was named NPSL Assistant Coach of the Year as Kennedy Catholic was voted the top 4A team in the state in a year without playoffs. He was instrumental in Kennedy Catholic’s four back-to-back NPSL Championships and their run all the way to the state championship game this past season.
“We reviewed dozens of resumes from across the country and interviewed a deep pool of candidates, but Pat proved he was the best person to lead our football program forward,” said President/Principal Matthew Mohs. “Besides already proving his abilities and loyalty as a coach under Coach Cross for the past four seasons, he comes with a long history of creating strong programs, winning teams, and promoting individual excellence on and off the field. His character, passion, leadership, and coaching acumen are widely respected across Washington, and we are fortunate that Pat will continue his Hall of Fame career at Kennedy Catholic.”
Coach Jones has multiple championships on his resume including 11 State football championships and 4 runner-up appearances in his career along with 16 KingCo championships and 4 NPSL championships. In 2012, his team was named the country’s National Champions by ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Jones was the long-time Assistant Head Football Coach at Bellevue High School where he coached from 1982-1994 and 2002-2015. Jones also coached football at Sultan High School (1995) and Sammamish High School (1996-2001).
In addition to football, Jones also coached multiple girls’ softball teams for Bellevue West Little League, Flame Fastpitch, and the NW Batbusters (2004-2017) with a state softball championship in 2015 with the Flame Fastpitch and a PGF Premier Berth for his 2016 Batbusters team.
In 2012, Jones was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame. He has coached in the state championship football game in five different decades with appearances in 1983, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2022.
Four of Coach Jones’ offensive lineman made it all the way to the NFL (Stephen Schilling, David DeCastro, Jake Eldrenkamp and Marcus Henry). Current NFL players Budda Baker and Myles Jack also played for Coach Jones during their time at Bellevue.
Jones also coached youth football from 2004 to 2008 and 2014 to 2019 on the Eastside with seven championships during that time. His 2018 youth team won regionals and qualified for the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame National Youth Championships in Canton, Ohio. To this date, Jones remains the President of the Bellevue Coaches Association Union and he is also the author of three books detailing his experiences in coaching (with the fourth and final book of the series already underway).
He and his wife, Marianne, are parents to eight children: Jordan, Beck, Dakota, Sean, Dallas, Montana, Brooklyn and Indiana. Indiana is currently a sophomore at Kennedy Catholic. They still reside in his hometown of Bellevue.
Kennedy Catholic High School is an Archdiocesan, co-ed high school located in Burien, Washington whose mission is to graduate leaders following Christ in a school community that is accessible, diverse, and committed to pursuing the full potential of every student. https://www.kennedyhs.org/
